1.Advances in the role of protein post-translational modifications in circadian rhythm regulation.
Zi-Di ZHAO ; Qi-Miao HU ; Zi-Yi YANG ; Peng-Cheng SUN ; Bo-Wen JING ; Rong-Xi MAN ; Yuan XU ; Ru-Yu YAN ; Si-Yao QU ; Jian-Fei PEI
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2025;77(4):605-626
The circadian clock plays a critical role in regulating various physiological processes, including gene expression, metabolic regulation, immune response, and the sleep-wake cycle in living organisms. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are crucial regulatory mechanisms to maintain the precise oscillation of the circadian clock. By modulating the stability, activity, cell localization and protein-protein interactions of core clock proteins, PTMs enable these proteins to respond dynamically to environmental and intracellular changes, thereby sustaining the periodic oscillations of the circadian clock. Different types of PTMs exert their effects through distincting molecular mechanisms, collectively ensuring the proper function of the circadian system. This review systematically summarized several major types of PTMs, including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation and oxidative modification, and overviewed their roles in regulating the core clock proteins and the associated pathways, with the goals of providing a theoretical foundation for the deeper understanding of clock mechanisms and the treatment of diseases associated with circadian disruption.
Protein Processing, Post-Translational/physiology*
;
Circadian Rhythm/physiology*
;
Humans
;
Animals
;
CLOCK Proteins/physiology*
;
Circadian Clocks/physiology*
;
Phosphorylation
;
Acetylation
;
Ubiquitination
;
Sumoylation
2.Prediction of Pharmacoresistance in Drug-Naïve Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Using Ictal EEGs Based on Convolutional Neural Network.
Yiwei GONG ; Zheng ZHANG ; Yuanzhi YANG ; Shuo ZHANG ; Ruifeng ZHENG ; Xin LI ; Xiaoyun QIU ; Yang ZHENG ; Shuang WANG ; Wenyu LIU ; Fan FEI ; Heming CHENG ; Yi WANG ; Dong ZHOU ; Kejie HUANG ; Zhong CHEN ; Cenglin XU
Neuroscience Bulletin 2025;41(5):790-804
Approximately 30%-40% of epilepsy patients do not respond well to adequate anti-seizure medications (ASMs), a condition known as pharmacoresistant epilepsy. The management of pharmacoresistant epilepsy remains an intractable issue in the clinic. Its early prediction is important for prevention and diagnosis. However, it still lacks effective predictors and approaches. Here, a classical model of pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was established to screen pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive individuals by applying phenytoin to amygdaloid-kindled rats. Ictal electroencephalograms (EEGs) recorded before phenytoin treatment were analyzed. Based on ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant and pharmaco-responsive rats, a convolutional neural network predictive model was constructed to predict pharmacoresistance, and achieved 78% prediction accuracy. We further found the ictal EEGs from pharmacoresistant rats have a lower gamma-band power, which was verified in seizure EEGs from pharmacoresistant TLE patients. Prospectively, therapies targeting the subiculum in those predicted as "pharmacoresistant" individual rats significantly reduced the subsequent occurrence of pharmacoresistance. These results demonstrate a new methodology to predict whether TLE individuals become resistant to ASMs in a classic pharmacoresistant TLE model. This may be of translational importance for the precise management of pharmacoresistant TLE.
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/diagnosis*
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Animals
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Drug Resistant Epilepsy/drug therapy*
;
Electroencephalography/methods*
;
Rats
;
Anticonvulsants/pharmacology*
;
Neural Networks, Computer
;
Male
;
Humans
;
Phenytoin/pharmacology*
;
Adult
;
Disease Models, Animal
;
Female
;
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
;
Young Adult
;
Convolutional Neural Networks
3.Effects of dietary supplements on patients with osteoarthritis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Chang-Shun CHEN ; Lei WEN ; Fei YANG ; Yong-Cheng DENG ; Jian-Hua JI ; Rong-Jin CHEN ; Zhong CHEN ; Ge CHEN ; Jin-Yi GU
Journal of Integrative Medicine 2025;23(4):357-369
BACKGROUND:
A growing body of research is exploring the role of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory dietary supplements in the treatment of osteoarthritis, highlighting an increasing emphasis on non-pharmacological interventions. Although more patients are turning to supplements to manage osteoarthritis, their actual effectiveness remains uncertain.
OBJECTIVE:
This study aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the available evidence concerning the efficacy of various dietary supplements in osteoarthritis treatment.
SEARCH STRATEGY:
We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science for studies on the use of various dietary supplements in the treatment of osteoarthritis from the creation of each database until Jan 20, 2025.
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
(1) Research object: osteoarthritis. (2) Intervention measures: patients in the treatment group received dietary supplements, while the control group received placebos. (3) Research type: randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS:
Two researchers independently examined the literature and retrieved data based on predefined criteria. The information gathered included the first author, year of publication, sample size, participant demographics, length of the follow-up period, intervention and control measures, and inclusion indications. RCTs comparing dietary supplements to placebo with the pain and function subscales of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) among patients with osteoarthritis were included. The optimal dietary supplement was identified based on the total ranking by summing the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) of these two scores. Furthermore, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to confirm the quality of the evidence.
RESULTS:
Overall, 23 studies covering 21 dietary supplements and involving 2455 participants met the inclusion criteria. In the WOMAC pain score, the SUCRA of passion fruit peel extract was 91% (mean difference [MD]: -9.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [-16.0, -2.3]), followed by methylsulfonylmethane (89%), undenatured type II collagen (87%), collagen (84%), and Lanconone (82%). The SUCRA (99%) of passion fruit peel extract (MD: -41.0; 95% CI: [-66.0, -16.0]) ranked first in terms of the WOMAC function score, followed by Lanconone (95%), collagen (86%), ParActin (84%), and Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (83%). The top three total rankings are passion fruit peel extract (95.0%), Lanconone (88.5%), and collagen (85.0%). However, the GRADE revealed low evidence quality.
CONCLUSION
Passion fruit peel extract was the best supplement for improving WOMAC pain and function scores in patients with osteoarthritis, followed by Lanconone and collagen. However, further large-scale, well designed RCTs are required to substantiate these promising findings. Please cite this article as: Chen CS, Wen L, Yang F, Deng YC, Ji JH, Chen RJ, Chen Z, Chen G, Gu JY. Effects of dietary supplements on patients with osteoarthritis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(4): 357-369.
Humans
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Dietary Supplements
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Osteoarthritis/drug therapy*
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
4.Association of Body Mass Index with All-Cause Mortality and Cause-Specific Mortality in Rural China: 10-Year Follow-up of a Population-Based Multicenter Prospective Study.
Juan Juan HUANG ; Yuan Zhi DI ; Ling Yu SHEN ; Jian Guo LIANG ; Jiang DU ; Xue Fang CAO ; Wei Tao DUAN ; Ai Wei HE ; Jun LIANG ; Li Mei ZHU ; Zi Sen LIU ; Fang LIU ; Shu Min YANG ; Zu Hui XU ; Cheng CHEN ; Bin ZHANG ; Jiao Xia YAN ; Yan Chun LIANG ; Rong LIU ; Tao ZHU ; Hong Zhi LI ; Fei SHEN ; Bo Xuan FENG ; Yi Jun HE ; Zi Han LI ; Ya Qi ZHAO ; Tong Lei GUO ; Li Qiong BAI ; Wei LU ; Qi JIN ; Lei GAO ; He Nan XIN
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(10):1179-1193
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study.
METHODS:
A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants.
RESULTS:
Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m 2) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m 2) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m 2) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m 2 ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSION
This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans
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Body Mass Index
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China/epidemiology*
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Male
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Female
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Middle Aged
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Prospective Studies
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Rural Population/statistics & numerical data*
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Aged
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Follow-Up Studies
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Adult
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Mortality
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Cause of Death
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Obesity/mortality*
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Overweight/mortality*
5.Screening of Illicit Oxyphenisatin Substances in Weight-Loss Dietary Supplements by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-in-Source-Fragmentation-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Hong-Fei SHI ; Ke-Yu LIU ; Bo-Peng XU ; Cheng-Xin XU ; Xiu-Qi ZHOU ; Yi-Fei ZHOU ; Ming-Xin GUO
Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry 2025;53(9):1576-1585,后插1-后插9,封3
By summarizing the mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of oxyphenisatin substances,an analytical method was established for screening of illegally added oxyphenisatin compounds in weight-loss health foods using high performance liquid chromatography-in-source-fragmentation-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(HPLC-ISF-QTOF-MS),along with a quantitative method for 11 kinds of oxyphenisatin compounds.Based on the developed screening method,an oxyphenisatin derivative was discovered in the reference standards,which was tentatively identified as 4-(3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxoindolin-3-yl)phenyl acetate and confirmed by MS/MS analysis.The results showed that all 11 kinds of oxyphenisatin compounds had correlation coefficients greater than 0.9971,with limits of detection(LODs)ranging from 0.12 to 0.68 μg/L and limits of quantification(LOQ)from 0.21 to 2.29 μg/L.The LODs for 11 kinds of characteristic ions ranged from 0.45 to 9.11 μg/kg.At spiking levels of 25,50 and 100 μg/kg,the recoveries ranged from 78.9%to 117.3%.The instrumental precision,intra-day method precision and inter-day method precision were 0.23%?1.70%,0.7%?2.4%,and 1.1%?3.3%,respectively.The developed targeted and non-targeted detection method demonstrated high sensitivity,strong stability,rapid analysis,and an expanded screening range for oxyphenisatin substances,and provided robust technical support for regulatory authorities in combating illegal adulteration.
6.Construction of Human-derived Chondrocyte PIEZO2 Overexpressing Cell Line and Identification of Osteoarthritis Phenotype
Bo-Yang XU ; Yi-Fei FAN ; Yu-Qing DU ; Meng-Ze SUN ; Jun-Yan WANG ; Jin CHENG ; Ying-Fang AO ; Xiao-Qing HU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(6):871-878
To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the mechanosensitive ion channel PI-EZO2 in osteoarthritis(OA),we developed a lentiviral vector for endogenous PIEZO2 overexpression and established a stable PIEZO2-high-expressing immortalized human primary chondrocyte line.By map-ping the open reading frame of the PIEZO2 locus and designing sequence-specific sgRNA,we employed the CRISPR/Cas9 synergistic activation mediator(SAM)system to precisely integrate transcriptional ac-tivation elements into the PIEZO2 promoter region.Lentiviral-mediated targeted genomic integration en-sured endogenous PIEZO2 overexpression,confirmed by mCherry fluorescence tracing coupled with flow cytometric sorting,which revealed membrane-specific localization of PIEZO2 protein(localization effi-ciency:78.49%).Quantitative PCR demonstrated a 17-fold upregulation of PIEZO2 mRNA,while Western blotting validated enhanced membrane-localized protein expression.Strikingly,PIEZO2-overex-pressing chondrocytes exhibited hallmark OA metabolic phenotypes compared to wild-type controls:typeⅡ collagen mRNA expression decreased to 50%of baseline levels,whereas matrix metalloproteinase 13(MMP13)mRNA surged by 20-fold.These alterations recapitulated the pathological matrix metabolic phenotype observed in biomechanical OA models induced by cyclic mechanical stress(10%strain,0.5 Hz,8 h/day for 2 consecutive days).Collectively,we successfully generated a human chondrocyte model with stable PIEZO2 overexpression,which faithfully mirrors mechanotransduction-driven OA progression.This engineered cellular system provides a robust platform for dissecting PIEZO2-mediated mechanosig-naling networks and advancing targeted therapeutic discovery.
7.Icaritin Targets P53 to Regulate DNA Damage Repair and FOXO Signaling Pathways to Inhibit Glioma Cell Growth
Zhi-Qiong LUO ; Zhuo-Yi WANG ; Yong-Ping WANG ; Xiao-Zhong CHEN ; Jia YU ; Sha CHENG ; Ning-Ning ZAN ; Bao-Fei SUN ; Heng LUO
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(5):753-763
Icaritin(ICT)is an 8-isopentenylflavonoid,which is the main effective component of the tra-ditional Chinese medicine Epimedium.Previously,we found that Icaritin inhibits the growth of glioblasto-ma(GBM)cells.Herein we aim to study the in vivo anti-GBM effectiveness of Icaritin and explore its mechanism.The results of MTT assay,flow cytometry,comet assay and cellular immunofluorescence as-say in vitro showed that ICT inhibited the proliferation of four kinds of GBM cells,U87,U251,U118 and A172,induced early apoptosis(P<0.001)and late apoptosis(P<0.05)in U87 cells,induced DNA damage in U87 cells,and blocked the growth of U87 cells at the G0/G1 phase(P<0.0001)in a concen-tration-time-dependent manner.In vivo subcutaneous tumor transplantation tumor experiments showed that feeding 200 mg/kg(P<0.01)and 400 mg/kg(P<0.001)ICT had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of GBM subcutaneous tumors,and had no significant toxic effects on heart,liver,spleen,lung and kidney tissues.The results of network pharmacological analysis,molecular docking and cellular thermodynamic experiments showed that there were 26 possible target proteins between ICT and GBM,a-mong which the expression of p53 in GBM tissues was significantly(P<0.001)higher than in normal tis-sues,and the binding energy of ICT and p53 was lower;cellular thermodynamic experiments verified that ICT significantly enriched the level of p53 in the living cells of GBM,which indicated that ICT could tar-get p53.The expression of key proteins in the DNA damage repair and apoptosis-associated FOXO signa-ling pathway was detected by ICT.The results showed that the expression of ATR(P<0.01),P53(P<0.001),P21(P<0.05)and γ-H2AX(P<0.05)was up-regulated,whereas the expression of Cyc-lin E1(P<0.01),E2F1(P<0.05),CDK2(P<0.01),Rb(P<0.001),p-Rb(P<0.0001)and WRN(P<0.0001)expression were down-regulated.There was no significant change in the expres-sion of FOXO 1 in the FOXO pathway or a significant down-regulation of its phosphorylation level.This study demonstrated that ICT could effectively inhibit the growth of GBM cells in vivo.It targets p53 to regulate the DNA damage repair pathway and FOXO signaling pathway to induce GBM cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
8.The in vivo and in vitro effects of Eriodictyol on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease by regulating UBA52 expression
Yiwei LIN ; Tanjun WEI ; Fei CHEN ; Cheng XIAO ; Lie YUAN ; Yi WANG
Tianjin Medical Journal 2025;53(9):916-922
Objective To investigate the effect of Eriodictyol(ERI)on the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease by regulating the expression of ubiquitin A 52(UBA52)at both in vivo and in vitro levels.Methods A mouse metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease model was established using a high-fat diet induction.The mice were randomly separated into the normal control group(normal group),the model group,the low-dose ERI group(ERI-L group,50 mg/kg ERI)and the high-dose ERI group(ERI-H group,100 mg/kg ERI),with 12 mice in each group.Oil red O staining was applied to observe lipid deposition in mouse liver tissue.HE staining was applied to observe pathological changes in mouse liver tissue.ELISA method was applied to detect serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),total cholesterol(TC)and triglycerides(TG)in mice.The expression of UBA52 protein in liver was detected by Western blot assay.HepG2 cells were treated with 0.5 mmol/L oleic acid to induce an in vitro metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease model.HepG2 cells were randomly divide into the control group,the oleic acid induced group,the low concentration ERI group(ERI low group,50 μmol/L ERI),the high concentration ERI group(ERI high group,100 μmol/L ERI),the high concentration ERI+si-NC group(ERI high+si-NC group,100 μmol/L ERI+transfected with si-NC)and the high concentration ERI+si-UBA52 group(ERI high+si-UBA52 group,100 μmol/L ERI+transfected with si-UBA52).Oil red O staining was applied to detect lipid deposition in HepG2 cells of each group.ELISA method was applied to detect the levels of TG,TC,SOD and MDA in HepG2 cells in each group.Immunoblotting was used to detect the expression levels of UBA52,p62 and autophagy related proteins in HepG2 cells.Results Compared with the normal group,serum levels of ALT,AST,LDL-C,TC,TG and the expression of UBA52 protein in liver tissue were increased in the model group(P<0.05),and the lipid deposition in liver increased,pathological damage was severe,and the proportion of lipid deposition area and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)activity score were also increased(P<0.05).Changes in the corresponding indicators in the ERI-L group and the ERI-H group were opposite to those of the model group(P<0.05),and the ERI-H group was even lower(P<0.05).The lipid deposition in liver decreased and the pathological damage was alleviated.Compared with the control group,the levels of TG,TC,MDA,the proportion of lipid droplet area and the expression of UBA52 protein were increased in HepG2 cells of the oleic acid-induced group,while the levels of SOD,p62 and LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ decreased(P<0.05).Changes in the corresponding indicators of the low-concentration ERI group and the high-concentration ERI group were opposite to those of the oleic acid-induced group(P<0.05),and the therapeutic effect of ERI on metabolic dysfuntion-associated steatotic liver disease was enhanced after knocking down the expression of UBA52.Conclusion ERI may slow down the progression of metabolic dysfuntion-associated steatotic liver disease by down-regulating the expression of UBA52 at both in vivo and in vitro levels.
9.Clinicopathological analysis of ALK-positive histiocytosis involving central nervous system
Yi-fei REN ; Mei-lin ZHANG ; Yuan-yuan CHENG ; Ji XIONG ; Yin WANG ; Feng TANG ; Zun-guo DU
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences 2025;52(6):837-846
Objective To summarize and analyze the clinicopathological characteristics,imaging manifestations,treatment and prognosis of anaplastic lymphoma kinase(ALK)-positive histiocytosis(APH)involving the central nervous system(CNS),so as to enhance understanding of this rare disease.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 5 cases of CNS-involved APH diagnosed in Huashan Hospital,Fudan University between 2019 and 2023.Clinical,imaging and pathological data were collected,and supplemented by immunohistochemical staining(IHC),fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)and high-throughput sequencing for auxiliary diagnosis and molecular characterization.The findings were summarized and integrated with previous literature for a comprehensive analysis.Results All five patients were male,with a mean age of 27.6 years,in which 2 cases exhibited multi-system involvement,while 3 cases exhibited single system involvement.Imaging revealed multiple intracranial lesions in multi-system cases and solitary lesions in single system cases,with well-defined boundaries and homogeneous enhancement.Histologically,tumor cells were intermingled with lymphocytes,displaying an alternating"light and dark"pattern in 1 case.Granuloma-like structures were observed in 4 cases,along with frequent nuclear grooves,indentations and convolutions.Tumor cells usually infiltrated surrounding tissues.IHC demonstrated that tumors expressed histiocytic markers(CD68/CD163)and ALK predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm.FISH confirmed ALK gene rearrangements in all patients,while high-throughput sequencing identified KIF5B-ALK fusions in 2 cases.All single system CNS cases achieved complete remission after surgical resection with or without adjuvant chemotherapy/ALK inhibitors.Among multi-system cases,one achieved partial remission,and one experienced relapse and progression.Conclusion CNS APH is prone to preoperative misdiagnosis.Its histopathological features,ALK immunohistochemical expression,and ALK gene fusions are critical for diagnosis.Patients with single system involvement demonstrate overall superior outcomes compared to multi-system cases.Total resection is effective for localized disease,while multi-system cases require systemic therapy.Multidisciplinary collaboration is crucial for precise diagnosis and treatment.
10.Construction of Human-derived Chondrocyte PIEZO2 Overexpressing Cell Line and Identification of Osteoarthritis Phenotype
Bo-Yang XU ; Yi-Fei FAN ; Yu-Qing DU ; Meng-Ze SUN ; Jun-Yan WANG ; Jin CHENG ; Ying-Fang AO ; Xiao-Qing HU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(6):871-878
To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the mechanosensitive ion channel PI-EZO2 in osteoarthritis(OA),we developed a lentiviral vector for endogenous PIEZO2 overexpression and established a stable PIEZO2-high-expressing immortalized human primary chondrocyte line.By map-ping the open reading frame of the PIEZO2 locus and designing sequence-specific sgRNA,we employed the CRISPR/Cas9 synergistic activation mediator(SAM)system to precisely integrate transcriptional ac-tivation elements into the PIEZO2 promoter region.Lentiviral-mediated targeted genomic integration en-sured endogenous PIEZO2 overexpression,confirmed by mCherry fluorescence tracing coupled with flow cytometric sorting,which revealed membrane-specific localization of PIEZO2 protein(localization effi-ciency:78.49%).Quantitative PCR demonstrated a 17-fold upregulation of PIEZO2 mRNA,while Western blotting validated enhanced membrane-localized protein expression.Strikingly,PIEZO2-overex-pressing chondrocytes exhibited hallmark OA metabolic phenotypes compared to wild-type controls:typeⅡ collagen mRNA expression decreased to 50%of baseline levels,whereas matrix metalloproteinase 13(MMP13)mRNA surged by 20-fold.These alterations recapitulated the pathological matrix metabolic phenotype observed in biomechanical OA models induced by cyclic mechanical stress(10%strain,0.5 Hz,8 h/day for 2 consecutive days).Collectively,we successfully generated a human chondrocyte model with stable PIEZO2 overexpression,which faithfully mirrors mechanotransduction-driven OA progression.This engineered cellular system provides a robust platform for dissecting PIEZO2-mediated mechanosig-naling networks and advancing targeted therapeutic discovery.

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